krc1995

Family was bored last night so we actually talked about random stuff like this. I’m not sure if any other team would have hung with him in the early 3b days and he’s not a great hitter, but he has been clutch at pivotal times.  I think the Royals went all in with him and it was ride or die. Having a fan base that could fill Kauffman at any given time probably didn’t hurt either. 

To clarify the question- where would Gordon be today if he wasn’t drafted a Royal? I think it’s possible he gets lost somewhere  in AAA

Ah, gotcha.  He was pretty good his first 2 years before he really struggled and I remember reading some stuff that his 2011 season was going to be his make or break because of how much he struggled in 2010 and they moved him to the OF as a last resort.  Then 2011 happens and the rest is pretty much history.  

I think if he gets drafted by a team other than the Royals, he still gets to the majors but there is definitely a scenario where after 2010 he just can't figure it out at the plate and he ends up as a AAA/AAAA guy.  Even if he got drafted by a team other than the Royals, he would've gotten as many bites at the apple as possible due to his draft status.  It certainly helped Gordon that the Royals stunk.  A more interesting scenario is what if he's a late 1st round pick that gets drafted by a really good team?  Who knows then...Still, he definitely makes the majors just based on what he did in the minor leagues (hint he crushed it).

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gordoal01.shtml